The presently described invention relates generally to a grill guard assembly for attachment on the front of a vehicle. Grill guards, brush guards, push bars and bull bars (collectively referred to as “grill guards”) have been on the market for the protection of the front end of vehicles such as trucks, sport utility vehicles (“SUVs”), crossover utility vehicles (“CUVs”), four-wheel drive vehicles (“4×4s”), police cars, all-terrain and other utility vehicles for many years. The grill guards presently marketed for these vehicles are generally comprised of a pair of vertical end plates arranged in parallel and located on opposite sides of the vehicle grill, with two or more transverse tubes connecting the end plates. The presently marketed grill guards are intended to protect the front grill area of the vehicle from damage from brush, small saplings and the like encountered in off-road travel. Some of the grill guards presently in use by law enforcement are meant to protect the police vehicle during aggressive maneuvers while attempting to stop suspect vehicles attempting to flee, such as during a precision immobilization technique (“PIT”) maneuver or tactical ramming.
The use a grill guard creates an inherent problem associated with lighting for the vehicle. The grill guard should, to the extent possible, not interfere with light emitted by the vehicle's lighting system, while at the same time protect the lights from damage. Some of the presently marketed grill guards have extensions for the protection of the vehicle headlights. Some of the presently marketed grill guards provide mounting points for the use of external off-road lights. However, merely mounting external lights on a conventional grill guard generally leads to poorly protected external lights, or ad hoc solutions. There is a need for a new, improved, grill guard structure for effectively providing protected and flexible lighting solutions.